The Cliffhanger (クリフハンガー) is one of the longest-enduring obstacles in SASUKE to date, having proven to be brutal throughout the history of SASUKE.
In essence, competitors must traverse through at least three narrow ledges, which are 3cm wide, only long enough to support the fingertips. Since its introduction, it has five renewals.
Version 1 (SASUKE 4)
The original version of Cliffhanger was introduced in SASUKE 4. Its actual name is 直線型クリフハンガー (literally Cliff Hanger straight version). Every ledge was at the same height, and each ledge was 1.2 meters long. It only lasted for the one tournament, as the producers increased the difficulty of each stage afterward due to Akiyama Kazuhiko's kanzenseiha in that competition.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 10 | 50% |
| Total | 5 | 10 | 50% |
Version 2 (SASUKE 5~8)
The second version of Cliffhanger appeared in SASUKE 5, where the final ledge was raised 30 cm and was renamed as the 段差型クリフハンガー(literally Cliff Hanger Dropout section). Yamamoto Shingo was the only competitor to attempt this version more than once. He attempted and passed it in SASUKE 5 and SASUKE 7.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| 7 | 1 | 3 | 33.33% |
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| Total | 6 | 9 | 66.67% |
Version 3 (SASUKE 9~17)
In the third version of Cliffhanger, the length of the first ledge was doubled, the second ledge raised by 30 cm, and the last ledge lowered by 45 cm. It was renamed again, this time as the クリフハンガー改 (literally Altered Cliff Hanger). This version lasted the longest thus far of any iteration. In later competitions, the obstacle marked the halfway point in the stage and passing it was marked as a major accomplishment.
Drawing of the third edition of the Cliffhanger.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 10 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| 11 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| 12 | 5 | 9 | 55.56% |
| 13 | 2 | 3 | 66.67% |
| 14 | 2 | 5 | 40% |
| 15 | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| 16 | 3 | 7 | 42.86% |
| 17 | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| Total | 22 | 39 | 56.41% |
Shin-Cliffhanger [Version 4] (SASUKE 18~24)
The fourth version of the Cliffhanger came after Nagano's completion of the course in SASUKE 17. It has been renamed once again, this time to the Shin-Cliffhanger (新クリフハンガー) to emphasize its redesign. The second ledge was shortened to 77cm, but also on an incline of 12 degrees. This caused the horizontal gap between the last two ledges to increase to 1 meter. To make up for this large gap, the width of the first part of the third ledge was increased to 6 cm.
Due to the large gap, it seems that competitors must now clear the obstacle by jumping across from second ledge to the third one. The first person not to attempt a jump, Nagasaki Shunsuke, was not able to clear the obstacle. However, in SASUKE 23, Takahashi Kenji was able to successfully clear without jumping.
In SASUKE 19, a metal sheet was placed above the first and third ledges to prevent competitors from getting disqualified like Nagano Makoto in SASUKE 18, who accidentally grabbed the top of the Shin-Cliffhanger instead of the ledge.
This version of the Cliffhanger proved to be one of the toughest obstacles in the history of the show as the first four competitors to try it, all failed (spanning three tournaments). TBS showed testers clearing it in SASUKE 20 and SASUKE 21's introduction, but it wasn't until Takeda Toshihiro cleared it in SASUKE 21 that it was finally conquered in competition.
Takahashi Kenji reaching over the gap of the Shin-Cliffhanger. He is the only person to ever successfully do so.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 0 | 3 | 0% |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 20 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| 21 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 22 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| 23 | 5 | 6 | 83.33% |
| 24 | 7 | 7 | 100% |
| Total | 16 | 23 | 69.57% |
Ultimate Cliffhanger [Version 5] (SASUKE 25~26)
The fifth version of the Cliffhanger came after Urushihara's completion of the course in SASUKE 24. It has been renamed once again, this time to the Ultimate Cliffhanger (アルティメットクリフハンガー) to emphasize its redesign. It is by far the largest and longest Cliffhanger to date, with a total of six ledges, double of any previous version. The obstacle first consists of two ledges. The first is 2m and on a 24° angle and requires competitors to climb right, the next is also 2m and is on a 12° angle, requiring competitors to climb left. After that there is a 60cm upwards vertical gap to the third ledge which is 3.2m long. Competitors must then cross a horizontal gap to another 1.2m ledge. At the end of that, they must jump and catch themselves on a small 15cm ledge. From there, they must swing to the final 2m ledge and traverse that to complete the obstacle.
In its first tournament, SASUKE 25, the obstacle proved to be unbelievably difficult. All four competitors who attempted it failed before any could even touch the third ledge. In SASUKE 26 the third ledge was lowered to make the transition from the angled ledges easier but this resulted in making the transition to the fourth ledge much harder. Also a large sheet of metal was placed at the base of the obstacle in order to hide the metal supports that were visible in SASUKE 25. Li En Zhi and Okuyama Yoshiyuki, in their second attempts, made it to the end of the fourth ledge but failed transitioning to the small fifth ledge.
Ultimate Cliffhanger in SASUKE 26 with the lowered third ledge.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 0 | 4 | 0% |
| 26 | 0 | 4 | 0% |
| 27 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Total | 0 | 8 | 0% |